Extraordinary Day of the Dead celebration at Gustavus!

El Día de los Muertos: We were reminded on Friday night that the Day of the Dead is a day to remember our loved ones, to laugh, and to revel in life. And we did just that –in an extraordinary celebration that spanned the entire day, with a chapel service and a nighttime celebration. We were assisted by our own Profesora Ana Adams (and her beautiful voice), by our chaplains Brian Konkol and Siri Erickson, and by Dr. Roberto Dansie, a shaman in the Mayan tradition. During Chapel, Gustavus senior Antonio Gómez and his wonderful mom, María Antonia Torres, talked about what the Day of the Dead meant in their home town of Guanajuato, México. Roberto Dansie accompanied Ana Adams in two songs at both events, and he lead the processional song on Friday night. Roberto then gave a moving talk during the event about celebrating life and about finding the true passion in our lives so that we can best use our gifts.

Thank you to everyone who made this such an unforgettable celebration! We are grateful to the chaplains, Brian Konkol and Siri Erickson for their enthusiasm and participation. To Ana Adams, who not only did a great deal of the organization for the event, but also lent her amazing voice! To Professors Mayra Taylor and Carlos Mejía for involving their students in the event, and for doing so much of the work. To the students from OLAS who helped lead the processional, and to students Avery Wallace ’14 and Megan Crowe ’14 who read petitions. To Jennifer Viveros ’14 who, as always, helped everything go more smoothly! And to Professors Marisa Kalbermatten and Kurt Irvin for judging the altars. And a big thanks to all of those — including Chaplain Brian and Aaron Johnson— who stayed past 10:30 on Friday night to help us clean the Chapel!

We also want to thank our students for the gift of their memories of loved ones who are no longer with us, their tributes to famous people who inspired them, their poetry, and their artistic talents.

Results of the altar competition:

#1) Selena (Mexican American singer)

#2) Richard Koizol (beloved grandfather of Jennifer Davis) –

#3) Pat Boros (beloved stepdad of Kayte Cole)

There were many, moving altars, including an altar dedicated to Gustavus student Grace Goblirsch, a member of the Gustavus swimming team, who died of leukemia in August of 2013. Her teammates Julia Kramer and Avery Wallace created a lovely tribute